Lamp bulb package



June 22, 1948. R. T. WHITE y 2,443,810

LAMP BULB PACKAGE Filed oct. 11. 1946 2 sheets-sheet 1 *u Mimik, K) ,M

INVENTOR. AY 7.` WH/TE bww A T70 PNL-YS June 22, 1948. K y R, T, WH|TE-2,443,810

` LAMP BULB PACKAGE Filed oct. 11, 194s 2 sheets-sheet 2 `1NVENT0R. IFAY r WH/TE A TTOP/VEYS Patented June 22, 1948 UNITED PATENT OF F IFCE 1 f3 ZL'MSLBI'O;n l n i LAMP BULB PACKAGE p Ray T; White,` Rocky River,hio,` aspsignorlto Theflliiawkns Gontainer Company, Cleveland, Ohio, alcorporation of Ohio l v 7' Application october i1, 1946, 'serial No.702,635

This invention relates to an improved protective package for fragilearticles andmore particularly to an improvedl carton4 orpackage for theusual type of incandescent electric lamp bulbs.

Various forms of' containersfhavebeen proposed andused for packagingelectric lain-p bulbs in` the usual householdsizes and protecting themagainst, breakage during i transportation `andstorage. Some of thesecontainers-.have beenexcessively bulky, others. have been expensive toImanufacture, somehavenot provided adequate protection for the bulbsandmany of them have. not beenparticularly attractive from a merchandisingstandpoint. x

It is,l therefore,` among the `objects of my in` vention to provide apackage of electric light bulbsor the like which adequately protectsthe; bulbs against breakage during storage and handling, which willpermit oneor more `bulbs. to4 be removed from the package and stillkproA teot the remaining bulbs against breakaga; which enablesa largernumber of bulbstobe packed in.` the same space than packages. commonlyinuse` inthis industry prior to my inventionl and which provides 1an;extremely attractive display cartonl thus facilitatingsales ofthe-packaged products to the customers.

Other objects oi` my inventionv include:` the provision of a protectivepackage yfor electricl lamp bulbs or theflike which requires. a minimumof materiali; the provision of a package of the type described whichpermits. ready removal `or replacement of lamp` bulbsafrom or to theenclosing: container; provision of an identifying means which may beleft ona lamp bulb when removed from; theenclosing carton;` and theprovision of` an electric lam-p bulb` package-Which permits the user todetermine at a glance how; many bulbs remainiri thepackage. l l 1 Theabove and other objects. of my invention? will appear from theyfollowing description of' sev-eral embodiments thereof, reference beinghad tothe accompanying drawingsin which:

Figurel is a perspective -view of an electricf lamp bulbpackagefincorporating the features of my present invention, the lidofthe box or container being partiallyopen y Figure 2 is a plan View`looking into `the open top.` ofA the box. of Figure 1` and.illustrating a. package designed, for yhandling four lamp linulbs`Figure `3is`- a. cross sectional View` taken on line ofu- Figure 2, andillustrating the box or con` tainer With the cover closed.

`or stern portion n 2.a n

' :Figure 4 is a" detachedA perspective Viewof my protective sleeveand'spacer; y

` Figure 5 is a fragmentary cross sectionalview` taken on line 5p-5` ofFigure 4 illustrating the' structure of2 the crrugatedipaper board,from; Whichthe protective' sleeves are, made.

Figure. 6` is a vievvj generally similar to Figure 2 but'illustrating aslightly larger size lamp bulb having somewl'iat d'iiierent proportionsf rom'the bu1bsofFigu`re2.

The most widely employed'incandescent elece tric lamp bulbs forhousehold and other general" illumination purposes. range "in"size` fromabout, 25 to 150' watts; Thecompl'ete rangeof wattage sizes,y Withinthese limits', is incorporated in only a few standardbulb'sizes, eachofwhich is used for severalfdiierent Wattage ratings. Inthe accompanyingdrawings I have illustratedv my in; vention in Figures l,` 2, and 3 asadapted' for packaging the smallersize bulbs,"for'examp1e 25 and 5G'watts, While' in Figure 6` I have illustrated' a packagejof largerbulbs', such as the 100 Watt size.`

My paokageconsists"'essentially of. afbox or container`C`,'preferably ofrectangular form and` made of? corrugated' paper board or other suitableshock.absorbingmateriaL "The box Cincludes aY top"or eover Iv having aiiap portion 2l adapted to fit within the frontwall 3 when the boxclos'ed (see Figure 3). l The bottom 4` of the box is also providedwithan upwardextending ap portion which fits-'against the rear wall 6. p Theend Walls 1" and `8 haveiiaps 'If' and 8" 'attheir top andvbottomedgeswhi'chadd to the-rigidity,v of the box structure and providea. more coinplete and effective enclosure for the contents thereof. f pl Thellength ofthe boa or container C. between the end Vvvallsflfandfdepends uponthe number offlamp lbulbs tobe housedin the package.` In.Figures 1 and Z'a box for four bulbs isillustrated butliit. will beunderstoodfthat the length of the box could be madeto.: accommodate 2, 34,` or.,` more bulbs as` desired- The incividuaibuibs Figure 2. aregenerallyindicated by reference characters BHQBZ; B3 and B4. Each. bulbcom. prises at globe, portionpzanda reduced neck` or stemportiongenerally indicated at IIL, this neckl l0 also includingthe usual;ythreaded basalt. l t l y Before placing the bulbs B1, B2, B3, and B4inthe container Cv protective spacer sleeves S. are-V slipped over thenecks lllV thereof untilthe ends of. thesleeves come to a, stop againstthe beginningi of the outward bulging globe portions 9 of the bulbs. Asis best seen in Figure 4, the sleeves S are made of corrugated paper orpaper board having a corrugated inner surface I2 and preferably having asmooth outer cover layer I3. These sleeves S are square in crosssection, the length of the sides of the square being such that when asleeve S is placed on the base II of a lamp bulb the corrugations I2,which extend peripherally of the sleeve, will slip or spring over thethreads of the base II and will, due to their engagement with thethreads, effectively hold the sleeve S in position on the base of thebulb as indicated in Figure 3. The sleeves S are preferably collapsibleinto flat form for storage and handling prior to placing on the lampbulbs and may advantageously be made in accordance with the disclosureof Patent No. 2,084,922 which issued on June 22, 1937, to Melvin H.Sidebotham.

In the package of Figure 2 the four bulbs, each fitted with a sleeve S,are placed in t'he container C in nested, side by side, alternate endfor end relation. It will be observed that with each of the bulbs ofFigure 2, which are the relatively small size units, the sleeve Sextends a substantial distance beyond the outer end of the base II whenin position on the bulb. It will also be seen that the width of the boxC between the front and rear walls 3 and 6 is substantially equal to theoverall length of the bulb plus sleeve units, the outer end of the globe9 substantially contacting the one. wall and the outer end of therectangular sleeve S contacting the other wall (see Figure 3). Thusendwise movement of the bulb-sleeve units between the walls 3 and 6 ofthe container is prevented. Furthermore the globe portions 9 of adjacentbulbs, and particularly the surfaces indicated at 9 thereof, areprevented from impact or engagement with each other which might possiblycause breakage.

The portions 9" of the globe portions 9 of each lamp bulb substantiallycontact the sleeves S on the adjacent bulbs and thus protective cushionsof relatively resilient and shock absorbing material are interposedbetween the globe portion of each bulb and the neck or base portions ofthe adjacent bulbs. As is clearly illustrated in Figure 2, the length ofthe container C between the end walls `I and 8 is lsuch that the outerbulbs B1 and B4 `just fit within the adjacent end walls when theintermediate globe portions 9 and sleeves S are substantially inengagement.

By making the width of the container C between the front and rear walls3 and 6 equal to the over-all length of a lamp bulb plus its sleeve S,endwise movement of the units is impossible. Also, breakage causingcontact between a-djacent bulbs is prevented by making the sleeves S ofproper length to give thebulb-sleeve units an overall length suiiicientto maintain a substantial space, as indicated at D in Figure 2, betweenglobe portions 9 of'adjacent bulbs. So likewise, by proportioning thelength of the container C between end walls 'l and 8 to just lit theover-alllength of the group of nested bulbs to be contained therein,lateral shifting `of the bulbs is restrained and contact betweenadjacent bulbs is cushioned by the sleeves S. As the box or container Cis also preferably made of corrugated paper board or the like aprotective enclosure for the entire group of bulbs is provided.

The outer surfaces of the box C may, of course, be imprinted withsuitable identifying and advertising matter and each of the individualsleeves S'may also be so imprinted. When the lid or top l of the box isopen, as shown in Figure l, the

bulbs within are attractively displayed, the sleeves S being arrangedwith their top and bottom surfaces horizontal and their side surfacesvertical, and the entire group of bulbs and sleeves being presented toview in a symmetrical and pleasing manner. When removing bulbs from thecontainer C for use, the first one to be taken out should be one oftheend bulbs of the group. The same procedure shoul-d be vfollowed inremoving additional bulbs, always taking an end bulb from the group sothat the remaining bulbs will at all times be prevented from directcontact with each other and the protective features of the package willbe preserved.

A popular and effective merchandising display for lampbulbs has beenfound to result when a rather large number of bulbs, in bulk form, isdisplayed in a wire basket or the like. When the ordinary bulb is sodisplayed the identity of the manufacturer is not clearly evident to theobserver of the display. However, when bulbs tted with my protectivesleeves are so displayed the manufacturers name or trade-mark on thesleeve will readily identify the bulbs to the prospective purchaser. Dueto the frictional, interlocking, engagement of the corrugated innersurfaces of the sleeves with the threads on the bases of the bulbs, thesleeves will be retained firmly in position although the sleeves may, ofcourse, be readily slipped off when it is desired to use the bulb.

In Figure 6 I have illustrated a larger size bulb than that shown inFigure 2. Two bulbs B5 and B6 are illustrated in a box or container C',only a portion of which isillustrated. It will be observed that thelarger bulbs illustrated in Figure 6 are provided with longer neckportions I4 and I5 than the bulbs of Figure 2. Thus the proportions ofthe bulbs B5 and l?,s are such that, when the outer end of the threadedbase portions I6 and I'I thereof abut the wall I8 of box C' and theouter end of the globe portions I9 and 20 engage the opposite wall 2l,the portions I9 and 20' rof the globes I9 and 20 are well spaced.Therefore it is unnecessary with a bulb of these proportions to extendthe sleeves S beyond the outer ends of the threadedbases of the bulbs,as was the case in Figures 2 and 3, and the ends of sleeves S aresubstantially aligned with the outer ends of the base portions I6 andI'I. In Figure 6 engagement between globe portions and neck portions ofadjacent bulbs is cushioned by the sleeves S' in the manner previouslydescribed,

Thus, in packaging any size or type of lamp bulb or other article ofgenerally similar shape such as a bottle, by making the length of thesleeves S such that when the sleeves are installed on the bulbs theglobe portions of adjacent bulbs will be positively held in spacedrelation in the box or container, glass to glass contact is prevented.It will be observed from the above description that my improved packageof electric light bulbs is extremely simple. Aside from t'he materialused in the box or container C, which is a minimum for the number ofbulbs to be packaged due. to the nested relation of the bulbs, only thecorrugated board for the small protective sleeves S is required. Boththe boxes and the sleeves may be economically manufactured and loadingof the bulbs into the packages is extremely easy due to the simplicityof the elements thereof.

Another important advantage of m'y'invention arises from the fact thatone size of outer box or container C may be used to package severalsizes of bulbs by employing sleeves S of different lengths. Thus in thebox illustrated in Figure 2 bulbs of a greater over-all length could bepackaged by using sleeves somewhat shorter than those illustrated butwhich, when installed on the bulbs, would make the over-all length ofthe bulbs and sleeves equal t the distance between the front wall 3 andrear wall 6 of the box. Substantial savings in the manufacture of theboxes C can thus be eiected by reducing the number of different sizes ofboxes which are required to package an entire line of bulb sizes.

Although I have described the illustrated forms of my invention inconsiderable detail it will be understood that variations andmodications may be made in the proportions and arrangement of theelements of my package with-out departing from the spirit of myinvention. For example, a two layer package may be made by providing abox or container which is substantially twice as deep as that shown,placing a layer of bulbs on the bottom of the box in the mannerillustrated herein, placing a sheet of corrugated paper or the like ontop of the lower layer of bulbs, and then placing a top layer of bulbson the spacer sheet. I do not, therefore, wish to be limited to theparticular form and arrangement of parts herein shown and described butclaim as my invention all embodiments thereof coming Within the scope ofthe appended claims.

I claim:

1. A package of electric light bulbs or the like comprising a generallyrectangular corrugated paper board box having a cover adapted t0 beopened and closed, and a plurality of electric lamp bulbs disposed insaid box in side by side alternate end for end nested relation, each ofsaid bulbs having a corrugated paper sleeve disposed around the neckthereof, said sleeves being substantially square in cross section andsnugly fitting the sleeve portions of said bulbs and abutting the globeportions thereof.

2. A package including a box of corrugated paper board or the like, aplurality of electric light bulbs disposed in side by side alternate endfor end relation in said box, said bulbs having globe portions andreduced neck portions, and corrugated paper protective sleeves ofgenerally rectangular cross-section positioned on the necks of each ofsaid bulbs, the globe portion of each bulb substantially contacting thesleeves on its adjacent bulbs, each bulb being held against substantialendwise movement by engagement of the globe with one side of the box andthe sleeve with the opposite side of the box, said engagement withopposite sides of the box also maintaining the globe portions ofadjacent bulbs out of contact.

3. A package of electric light bulbs or the like comprising two or morebulbs disposed in nested relation on the bottom of a box, each bulbhaving a corrugated paper sleeve of generally square cross-section ttingsnugly around its neck portion and abutting its globe portion, each bulbwith its sleeve having an overall length substantially equal to thewidth of said box whereby endwise movement of the bulbs and contactbetween the globe portions of adjacent bulbs is prevented, said sleevespreventing direct contact and providing cushions between the globeportions and neck portions of adjacent bulbs.

4. A package of the type described including a generally rectangular boxhaving a cover portion forming the top of the box when closed, aplurality of electric light bulbs disposed therein, each of said bulbshaving a globe portion and a neck portion, said bulbs being nested sideby side in said box with adjacent bulbs reversed end for end, and meansfor restricting movement of said bulbs in said box and maintaining themout of breakage causing contact with each other comprising sleeves ofrectangular cross-section frictionally retained on said neck portions ofsaid bulbs, the length of said sleeves being correlated to the width ofsaid box to maintain the globe portions of any two adjacent bulbs out ofengagement with each other when said globe portions of said two adjacentbulbs are in contact with the sleeves on the necks of said two adjacentbulbs.

RAY T. WHITE.

REFERENCE S CITED FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date France July 21, 1930Number Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,443,810 June 22, 1948 RAYT. WHITE It is hereby certified that the name of the assignee in theabove numbered patent was erroneously described and specied as TheHawkins Container Company Whereas said name should have been describedand specified as The Hanlcfins Container Company; and that the saidLetters Patent should be read with this correction therein that the samemay conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oice.

Signed and sealed this 21st day of February, A. D. 1950.

THOMAS F. MURPHY,

Assistant Commissioner of Patents.

